World

Asian and European markets rose Friday after a Wall Street rally ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell that is expected to reiterate his plan to ramp up interest rates to fight inflation.

Adding to the strong buying sentiment were signs of progress in talks between US and Chinese regulators that could see tech titans including Alibaba and JD.com avoid a delisting in New York.

Global equities have staggered in recent weeks after a near two-month rally from their June lows as a string of Fed officials lined up to reaffirm their commitment to tighten monetary policy, despite some promising economic data.

All eyes are now on Powell’s remarks later Friday at the annual symposium of top bankers and finance chiefs at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Most expect him to confirm that more hikes are on the way as officials try to bring inflation down from painful highs not seen in four decades.

Analysts said that while a number of board members have lined up this week, the hawkish tilt has largely been baked into market prices.

The key issue now is how much the bank will tighten over the coming months, with expectations for a half-point lift next month, after two three-quarter moves in June and July.

Wall Street’s three main indexes ended well up Thursday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 up more than one percent.

And Asia followed the lead, with Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney closing higher. There were also gains in Seoul, Singapore and Taipei.

Shanghai, however, ended lower.

In early European trade, London, Frankfurt and Paris all rose.

– US-China tech boost –

Hong Kong enjoyed a surge in tech shares thanks to news that China-US regulatory talks were progressing.

More than 200 Chinese firms have for months had the threat of a New York delisting hanging over them as they are caught in a wide-ranging row between the world’s two biggest economies.

But reports said Thursday that Beijing had called on top accounting firms to prepare to bring US-listed companies’ audit papers to Hong Kong, to be reviewed by US officials.

US lawmakers set a 2024 deadline for the removal of businesses that do not comply with listing rules and the latest move could provide a big step in avoiding that.

“To see that both sides are communicating, it is a good thing,” said Daisy Li, at EFG Asset Management. 

“Still, we will need to see if the US side is actually willing to accept the disclosure. If this can be resolved, it could help lower some (of the) China market’s geopolitical risk premium.”

The reports came as China announced plans to boost its flagging economy by pumping in tens of billions of dollars to kickstart lending, consumption and investment.

However, analysts have warned that while the cash injection will be welcomed, investors were more keen to see China ease Covid-19 policies that have led to the lockdown of major cities and battered industries.

– Key figures at around 0815 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 28,641.38 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 20,170.04 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,236.22 (close)

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,513.96

Euro/dollar: UP at 0.9977 from 0.9968 Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.1780 from $1.1826

Euro/pound: UP at 84.71 pence from 84.28 pence

Dollar/yen: UP at 136.96 yen from 136.36 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $93.52 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.0 percent at $100.33

New York – Dow: UP nearly 1.0 percent at 33,291.78 (close)

A two-week negotiating session on a treaty to protect the high seas wraps up Friday, with UN observers holding their breath that the long-stalled deal can cross the finish line.

After 15 years, including four prior formal sessions, negotiators have yet to reach a legally binding agreement to address the growing environmental and economic challenges involving the high seas, also known as international waters — a zone which encompasses almost half the planet.

Many had hoped that this fifth session, which began on August 15 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, would be the last and yield a final text on “the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction,” or BBNJ for short.

The High Ambition Coalition, a group of some 50 countries led by the European Union, had even called for a comprehensive BBNJ deal to be finalized by the end of the year.

But according to international environmental group Greenpeace, the talks are on the brink of failure because of what it considers “the greed of countries in the High Ambition Coalition and others like Canada and the United States.”

One of the most sensitive issues revolves around the sharing of possible profits gained from developing genetic resources in international waters, where pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetic companies hope to find miracle drugs, products or cures.

Such costly research at sea is largely the prerogative of rich nations, but developing countries do not want to be left out of potential windfall profits drawn from marine resources that belong to no one.

A draft text published a few days ago seemed to side with the developing nations, with a requirement that two percent of all future sales be redistributed.

But since then, there has been “a big step backwards,” said Greenpeace’s Will McCallum, who accuses the EU of rejecting the proposal. 

“It’s not even real money. It’s just hypothetical money one day. That is why it is really frustrating,” he told AFP.

The EU pushed back on that characterization, with one European negotiator telling AFP: “We are willing to contribute to the BBNJ agreement through various funding sources, which in our view shall include a fair sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources globally.”

Similar issues of equity between the Global North and South arise in other international negotiations, such as on climate change, where developing nations feel outsized harms of global warming and try in vain to get wealthier nations to help pay to offset those impacts.

– ‘Too close to fail’ –

Though Greenpeace might be very pessimistic, others still hope for an agreement on Friday.

“It is slow but there is still a lot of will inside the room to get it done,” said Liz Karan with the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts.

“I wouldn’t call it a failure yet but the clock is ticking,” she added.

Jihyun Lee, a youth ambassador with conservation group the High Seas Alliance, said a deal was possible, but added it would be necessary for countries, “especially those who claim themselves as ocean champions, to show more ambitions and flexibility so we can get the treaty done.”

“We cannot afford to water down the high seas treaty and we don’t have any time to waste,” she told a press conference. “We’re too close to fail.”

The high seas begin at the border of nations’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) — which by international law reach no more than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from each country’s coast — and are under no state’s jurisdiction.

Sixty percent of the world’s oceans fall under this category.

And while healthy marine ecosystems are crucial for the future of humanity, particularly to limit global warming, only one percent of international waters are protected.

One of the key pillars of an eventual BBNJ treaty is to allow the creation of marine protected areas, which many nations hope will cover 30 percent of the Earth’s ocean by 2030.

“Without establishing protections in this vast area, we will not be able to meet our ambitious and necessary 30 by 30 goal,” said US State Department official Maxine Burkett at a press conference.

But delegations still disagree on the process for creating these protected areas, as well as on how to implement a requirement for environmental impact assessments before new activity on the high seas.

“I think they have made a lot of progress in the last two weeks on issues that were very controversial,” said Klaudija Cremers, a researcher at the IDDRI think tank, which like multiple other NGOs has a seat with observer status at the negotiations.

She told AFP that the final talks Friday “could be the push to get an agreement.”

A two-week negotiating session on a treaty to protect the high seas wraps up Friday, with UN observers holding their breath that the long-stalled deal can cross the finish line.

After 15 years, including four prior formal sessions, negotiators have yet to reach a legally binding agreement to address the growing environmental and economic challenges involving the high seas, also known as international waters — a zone which encompasses almost half the planet.

Many had hoped that this fifth session, which began on August 15 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, would be the last and yield a final text on “the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction,” or BBNJ for short.

The High Ambition Coalition, a group of some 50 countries led by the European Union, had even called for a comprehensive BBNJ deal to be finalized by the end of the year.

But according to international environmental group Greenpeace, the talks are on the brink of failure because of what it considers “the greed of countries in the High Ambition Coalition and others like Canada and the United States.”

One of the most sensitive issues revolves around the sharing of possible profits gained from developing genetic resources in international waters, where pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetic companies hope to find miracle drugs, products or cures.

Such costly research at sea is largely the prerogative of rich nations, but developing countries do not want to be left out of potential windfall profits drawn from marine resources that belong to no one.

A draft text published a few days ago seemed to side with the developing nations, with a requirement that two percent of all future sales be redistributed.

But since then, there has been “a big step backwards,” said Greenpeace’s Will McCallum, who accuses the EU of rejecting the proposal. 

“It’s not even real money. It’s just hypothetical money one day. That is why it is really frustrating,” he told AFP.

The EU pushed back on that characterization, with one European negotiator telling AFP: “We are willing to contribute to the BBNJ agreement through various funding sources, which in our view shall include a fair sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources globally.”

Similar issues of equity between the Global North and South arise in other international negotiations, such as on climate change, where developing nations feel outsized harms of global warming and try in vain to get wealthier nations to help pay to offset those impacts.

– ‘Too close to fail’ –

Though Greenpeace might be very pessimistic, others still hope for an agreement on Friday.

“It is slow but there is still a lot of will inside the room to get it done,” said Liz Karan with the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts.

“I wouldn’t call it a failure yet but the clock is ticking,” she added.

Jihyun Lee, a youth ambassador with conservation group the High Seas Alliance, said a deal was possible, but added it would be necessary for countries, “especially those who claim themselves as ocean champions, to show more ambitions and flexibility so we can get the treaty done.”

“We cannot afford to water down the high seas treaty and we don’t have any time to waste,” she told a press conference. “We’re too close to fail.”

The high seas begin at the border of nations’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) — which by international law reach no more than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from each country’s coast — and are under no state’s jurisdiction.

Sixty percent of the world’s oceans fall under this category.

And while healthy marine ecosystems are crucial for the future of humanity, particularly to limit global warming, only one percent of international waters are protected.

One of the key pillars of an eventual BBNJ treaty is to allow the creation of marine protected areas, which many nations hope will cover 30 percent of the Earth’s ocean by 2030.

“Without establishing protections in this vast area, we will not be able to meet our ambitious and necessary 30 by 30 goal,” said US State Department official Maxine Burkett at a press conference.

But delegations still disagree on the process for creating these protected areas, as well as on how to implement a requirement for environmental impact assessments before new activity on the high seas.

“I think they have made a lot of progress in the last two weeks on issues that were very controversial,” said Klaudija Cremers, a researcher at the IDDRI think tank, which like multiple other NGOs has a seat with observer status at the negotiations.

She told AFP that the final talks Friday “could be the push to get an agreement.”

As the Rose of Tralee beauty pageant concluded this week, the contestants in colourful ball gowns and silk sashes swayed as they sang the 19th-century ballad that inspired the competition.

“She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,” they sang as this year’s winner was paraded through the town in County Kerry, southwest Ireland, which gave the contest its name.

When all 33 contestants departed the stage, fireworks burst overhead and ticker tape ribbon fell from the sky.

The beauty pageant returned to Tralee and Ireland’s living rooms after a two-year absence due to Covid restrictions to fanfare from its legions of fans.

But critics have raised questions about the pageant’s relevance in modern Ireland and the diversity of its contestants, not least because of the show’s all-white line up for 2022.

Created in 1959, the Rose of Tralee draws contestants, known as “roses”, from across Ireland and around the world from the Irish diaspora.

All of them are winners of local selections that draw thousands of participants.

New York Rose Cathrena Collins, a 24-year-old law student, told AFP it had been “really special” to represent her city’s Irish community, just as her grandmother had in 1965.

“It was huge for me. Growing up, I always heard stories. She always talked about what an honour it was,” she explained.

– Modern Ireland –

The Rose of Tralee has been a major fixture on Irish television since it was first broadcast in 1967 and has had to adapt to the changing currents in Irish society to survive.

Mary McGill, an Irish lecturer and author, said it originates from a time when a “puritanical notion of Catholicism” was a “huge part” of Irish identity.

At the time, the church had an iron grip on Irish society and womanhood was put “under forms of extreme surveillance and extreme expectation around morality”.

“I think because of its origins, that baggage is still there,” she said, explaining, however, that Rose of Tralee is still “able to tap into the zeitgeist in a strange way”.

“(It is) something that’s uniquely Irish and quite traditionalist. 

“It also has managed to have a new lease of life in the 21st century because of the connection it has to Irishness, nostalgia and the global community”.  

This year, the contestants wanted the pageant to reflect modern Ireland as much as possible.

Ireland, home to some five million people, has traditionally been a country of emigration but that began to change when its economy took off in the 1990s, notably with immigration from the EU.

Most people still class themselves as white Irish but ethnic diversity is increasing. 

At the same time it has seen once unthinkable social change, including same-sex marriage and the liberalisation of strict abortion laws.

Wexford Rose Joy Quigley, a 26-year-old sometime bodybuilding competitor, showed off a sleeve tattoo on her right arm as she demonstrated muscle poses for the audience in a sparkling green evening gown.

“I think a modern Irish woman isn’t your typical glamorous pretty princess,” she said.

“We are a bit rough around the edges, and it’s important to be relatable like that.”

– Rule changes –

Broadcast over two consecutive evenings in prime time, the pageant frequently revels in its own brand of Irish kitsch.

During Tuesday’s finale, one rose was admonished by a popular children’s TV puppet after she revealed she had worked on a killing line in a poultry processing factory.

Grown men wept openly as a contestant from Queensland in northwest Australia read a poem about missing Ireland, including crisp sandwiches made with the nation’s beloved Tayto brand.

Rose of Tralee also celebrates the bonds created by the competition in Irish communities.

Winning rose Rachel Duffy, from Westmeath in central Ireland, spoke of her pride in representing the rural community that had rallied around her following the death of her mother 14 years earlier.

Maysen Tinkler from Toronto, Canada, was diagnosed with autism a little over a year ago, and spoke of how other contestants had supported her.

In December, a series of rule changes were announced, allowing married women and trans-women to enter and raising the age limit from 28 to 29.

Despite the efforts, former Sydney Rose Brianna Parkins criticised the all-white line up during a radio debate for national broadcaster RTE.

“There just seems to be a lack of diversity across the board. It isn’t just a racial issue here,” the 2016 contestant said.

“We have some diverse people entering but I would love to see those numbers boosted because I don’t think they’re true reflections of Irish society at the minute.”

Executive chair of the Rose of Tralee Anthony O’Gara dismissed the criticism as “lazy” and “nonsense”, pointing out three of the last four winners had been of mixed ethnic origin. 

“Frankly, I’m fed up with people… finding a different angle every year to have a go at the Rose of Tralee Festival,” he added. 

“It’s such a shame for this boy, such a shame,” said Viktor, a resident of the Ukrainian city of Chaplyne, whose young neighbour was killed by a Russian strike.

Russian missiles slammed into the town of 4,000 people, a railway hub in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, killing 25 people including two children and injuring 31, the presidency said Thursday.  

“An 11-year-old boy was killed under the rubble, another six-year-old died in a burnt-out car near the station,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy chief of the presidential administration, said on Telegram.  

One of the missiles destroyed the house of Viktor’s neighbour, leaving a huge crater in the courtyard. 

Viktor, a grey-haired man in a blue polo shirt, was not at home but heard the explosions from afar.  

“My daughter phoned me to tell me what a nightmare has happened here. I came back by bike. The house next door didn’t exist anymore. There was a hole five meters deep,” he said.  

The neighbour and her son were taken to hospital with injuries. 

But locals knew there was still a second child under the rubble and began clearing it. 

“After, the rescuers arrived and we pulled him out,” Viktor said. 

“We saw him every day, it was like he was our kid,” he said.  

Viktor’s daughter and mother-in-law were at the scene at the time of the strike. 

“They were both in shock,” Viktor’s wife Kateryna said, breaking down in tears. 

“Thank God they stayed alive.”  

The attack hit the railway station and “five carriages caught fire,” said Artem Zhuravlyov, an emergency services official. 

Ukraine’s state railway company said three of its employees were killed and four others injured and published photos of burnt passenger wagons.  

– Independence Day –

The bombing came as Ukraine marked Independence Day, which commemorates its 1991 separation from the Soviet Union. 

It also came as the country entered its seventh month of the Russian invasion on Wednesday. 

Moscow said it had struck a “military train” heading for “combat zones” in eastern Ukraine, a key strategic objective of Moscow. 

An Iskander missile “directly hit a military train… eliminating more than 200 soldiers from the Ukrainian armed forces reserve” as well as equipment, the Russian defence ministry said. 

Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said “10 civilians were killed” at Chaplyne station and its surroundings, leaving open the possibility that the other victims were not civilians. 

“This is what Russia has done to us,” Anatoliy, in his 60s, said as he shows his devastated home. 

“No car, no house, no shed,” he said. 

Behind him, his old blue Lada no longer has a single window, its body badly damaged by pieces of roofing. 

On the roof, there is nothing left but the frame and the chimney.  

“We had thought for a long time that there would be a bombing. But we didn’t think they were going to bomb civilians,” Anatoliy said.  

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